NHL's Player Safety Division criticized for showing bias in rulings against the Bruins
Following Brendan Gallagher's extremely dirty hit in last night's game, the news that he would receive no more than a five-game suspension sparked widespread anger over the NHL's Department of Player Safety's apparent inconsistency and bias in its decisions.
Jeff Veillette's report highlighted an imbalance in the distribution of suspensions among teams, pointing out that Boston and the Leafs top the list of teams with the most suspensions.
- On-ice suspensions only
- Automatics don't count
- Original rulings, not appeals
- Regular Season + Playoffs
It was quickly suggested that the reason those two teams are at the top of the list might be because George Parros, the head of the Department, is a former Montreal Canadiens player known for his physical style of play.
A prominent instance of this perceived partiality was the suspension length given to Jason Spezza for his hit during a game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was handed a six-game suspension for a hit that, while severe, was not as egregious as Gallagher's, especially considering that Spezza had no prior offenses.
It remains to be seen whether publicly highlighting these issues with the Department of Player Safety will lead to any adjustments in their inconsistent decision-making.
| POLL | ||
26 JANVIER | 144 ANSWERS NHL's Player Safety Division criticized for showing bias in rulings against the Bruins Is the DoPS bias? | ||
| Yes | 125 | 86.8 % |
| No | 19 | 13.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
